Service Performance Remains Stable Across All Mail Categories

Total sales for the second quarter of 2017 decreased 2.7 percent to $311.0 million, while comparable store sales decreased 5.0 percent. Ecommerce sales were up 41 percent over last year's second quarter. For the first six months of 2017, total sales decreased 4.0 percent to $648.4 million, while comparable store sales decreased 6.4 percent. Gross profit for the second quarter of 2017 was $64.7 million or 20.8 percent of sales compared to $89.4 million or 28.0 percent of sales in 2016. Gross profit for the first six months of 2017 was $160.2 million or 24.7 percent of sales compared to $198.3 million or 29.4 percent of sales in 2016. The lower gross profit rate for both periods reflects much higher markdowns and to a lesser extent higher occupancy costs that negatively leverage on lower sales. Click Read More below for additional detail.

The electronics retailer, which has no physical presence in Massachusetts, says the state's demand that it collect and remit tax from online sales there is unconstitutional. Massachusetts officials want Crutchfield Corp. to fork over sales taxes for online transactions made their state, and the Virginia-based consumer electronics retailer is going to court over the request. Crutchfield, No. 190 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500, on Tuesday filed a complaint in a Virginia court seeking a declaratory judgment to exempt it from Massachusetts’ efforts to collect sales tax for online transactions, despite the fact that Crutchfield has no physical presence there. Click Read More below for additional information.

"In 2023, we made excellent progress executing on our strategy to drive our digital transformation, resulting in total digital revenues exceeding 41% of total revenues in the fourth quarter, and amounting to nearly $1.1 billion for the year. Over the past year, we’ve expanded our digital audience, improved engagement, grown the monetization of our audience, and driven significantly improved financial results over the prior year. Our digital-only subscription revenues surpassed $150 million in 2023, with total digital-only average revenue per user reaching a new high. Also, our partnership strategy increased our overall digital monetization, and importantly, we expect to generate $20 million in high margin revenue from our partnerships in 2024," said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. "In 2023, we achieved full year growth in both Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow, representing an important change in trajectory compared to last year's declines. We also remained focused on improving our capital structure and, with over $140 million in debt repayments in 2023, we were able to significantly reduce our leverage during the year. As these results show, we are building momentum toward a sustainable digital growth business, with a strong balance sheet."